My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 21. A Parent’s Heart
“Oh?”
Yul-i’s bright, wide eyes filled with the sight of a large face—bristling beard and keen-edged gaze.
Had she been an ordinary small child, she would have burst into tears on the spot. It was the kind of terrifying visage that invited fear.
Yet, oddly enough, Yul-i’s reaction was different.
“……?”
Finding something so curious that her eyes widened into perfect circles, Yul-i tilted her head and spoke.
“Grandfather?”
Those words alone.
At that single utterance from Yul-i, Peng Mu-gang’s chest caved in with a thud.
It was shameful, perhaps. Or unjust, even.
In truth, Peng Mu-gang had never met a child who didn’t cry at the sight of him.
Even his own children—Peng Seo-yeon and Peng Seo-jin—had done the same.
The moment he cradled them, they would sob so pitifully. How they would wail.
He had tried everything to comfort them, mustering every effort he could. Nothing had worked.
So each time, wearing a bitter expression, he would hand the children back to their mother.
Perhaps it was only natural, after all.
Peng Mu-gang’s inherent gravitas and tiger-like appearance should have frightened children without exception. It would have been strange if they hadn’t.
But Yul-i was different.
It was the first time.
A child who showed no fear at all upon seeing him.
Peng Seo-jin set Yul-i down before Peng Mu-gang.
Naturally, Peng Mu-gang’s gaze followed downward as well.
“Yul-i, you should say hello to grandfather properly.”
Yul-i mimicked Peng Seo-jin’s gentle instruction faithfully, folding her small body in half at the waist.
“Grandfather, hello.”
With her own manner of politeness and deliberate pronunciation, Yul-i greeted him—then stretched both arms toward Peng Mu-gang.
“…….”
Astonishingly, Peng Mu-gang simply stared at her, bewildered.
Seeing her husband’s expression, Dan Hee-yeong glanced between Yul-i and him, then nudged Peng Mu-gang gently.
“What are you doing? She’s asking you to hold her.”
“Mm? ……Ah? Ah, mm.”
Prodded by his wife’s nudge, Peng Mu-gang found himself lifting Yul-i into his arms as if pushed from behind.
Immediately, a precious scene unfolded: Yul-i nestling snugly into Peng Mu-gang’s large, log-like arms.
“…….”
Finding himself unexpectedly holding Yul-i, Peng Mu-gang was utterly bewildered by the situation.
The small child in his arms felt so delicate that the slightest pressure would shatter her.
Yet that fragile child did not cry at the sight of him.
Instead, when their eyes met, she beamed at him.
“Grandfather!”
In that moment, Peng Mu-gang’s expression hardened sharply.
To anyone unaware, it was the terrifying visage of a man about to tremble and prostrate himself flat on the ground in an instant.
Even Peng Seo-yeon and Peng Seo-jin wondered if their father disliked the child.
But Dan Hee-yeong saw it.
She saw her husband’s cheeks quivering continuously.
He was acting with all his might as if nothing were wrong.
Yet his eyes—his eyes were trembling as never before.
***
“Are you truly certain it will be all right?”
“He said it would be. So don’t worry yourself overmuch.”
“But…….”
Dan Hee-yeong soothed the anxious Peng Seo-yeon, who was at a loss.
Now that she thought of it, Yeo Un-hui and Peng Mu-gang were nowhere to be seen.
In fact, just moments ago, Peng Mu-gang had singled out Yeo Un-hui and taken him to the Master’s Chamber.
Naturally, Peng Seo-yeon could do nothing but worry.
“Even if he is your father, he would never harm someone who hasn’t studied martial arts.”
“I know, but…….”
She knew this better than anyone.
Though her father had spoken roughly and let his emotions flare just a moment before, he was someone who understood the line that must not be crossed better than most.
Indeed, it was precisely that aspect of him that people feared.
Understanding the boundary clearly meant that the moment her opponent crossed that line, her father would become a more fearsome adversary than anyone. That was what it meant.
So her father would not raise a hand against her husband, she was certain of that.
But understanding something with your head and accepting it in your heart were two different matters.
……
Dan Hee-yeong understood her daughter’s feelings.
After all, was she not also a wife with a husband and a mother with children?
So it seemed that further words of comfort would not help her daughter.
Dan Hee-yeong changed the subject.
“Seo-yeon.”
“Yes?”
“There’s something you don’t know about. Actually.”
……?
At Dan Hee-yeong’s sudden mention of an unfamiliar matter, Peng Seo-yeon’s eyes widened slightly.
Peng Seo-jin, sensing what his mother was about to say, interjected between the two women.
“Mother, wouldn’t Father dislike it if you told this to my sister?”
“Perhaps he would. But is there any secret in this world that lasts forever? Besides, now that Seo-yeon has come home… she should know. She should understand her father’s heart.”
“What do you mean by that? Father’s heart?”
Seeing the puzzled look on Peng Seo-yeon’s face, Dan Hee-yeong began speaking calmly as she regarded her daughter.
“Seo-yeon. You didn’t know, but… your father has known all along where you were and how you were living.”
“What?”
“Your father is the master of the Haebuk Peng Clan, one of the Five Great Martial Families. Finding out something like that is nothing for him.”
Peng Seo-yeon’s eyes grew wide with astonishment.
It was something she had never imagined.
Though she did not know it, even Dang Gu-hui, the eldest son of the Sichuan Dang Clan, had not been able to find her.
Naturally, it made no sense that Peng Mu-gang, the master of the Haebuk Peng Clan, could not have found her.
The power of the Five Great Martial Families was far greater than Peng Seo-yeon imagined.
Their influence reached across the entire Central Plains.
“But then why……”
“Why didn’t he bring you back by force, is that what you want to ask?”
“Oh, no. I just……”
Startled by Dan Hee-yeong’s bluntness, Peng Seo-yeon trailed off and looked away.
Dan Hee-yeong smiled bitterly at her daughter.
“Where in this world is there a parent who can overcome their child?”
In that single sentence, she had answered everything.
As though remembering that time, Dan Hee-yeong stared at the table for a moment before continuing slowly.
“He found you, but your father ultimately chose to accept your will. That’s why he didn’t interfere further. And yet when he saw you today, he was so angry… well, that’s just how parents are. His beautiful, clever daughter had returned after so many years, but seeing her face and hands so chapped and bearing the marks of hardship—his heart simply ached and broke for you.”
……
“You know well enough that your father is not good with words.”
Tears suddenly welled up in Peng Seo-yeon’s eyes.
She had believed her father would never forgive her for fleeing the clan in that way.
She thought he must have struck her name from the family records.
She had believed he would never wish to see her again.
But it was not so.
……
Though she pressed her lips hard trying to hold back, the tears came anyway, falling one by one.
Her head bowed, unable even to think of wiping away the tears as they streamed down, Peng Seo-yeon let them fall while Dan Hee-yeong said nothing, only patting her gently.
Watching the two women, Peng Seo-jin too smiled softly.
Boom!
Meanwhile, Yul-i was running about the room, playing with such delight at something or other.
Dan Hee-yeong laughed watching him.
“That Yul-i is quite spirited, isn’t he? Not even afraid of his grandfather. Our Seo-yeon and Seo-jin were so terrified of their father—just to be held would send them crying in panic.”
Hastily wiping her tears at the mention of Yul-i, Peng Seo-yeon answered, feigning indifference.
“I don’t remember.”
“Why bring that up now, Mother?”
As though they had made an agreement, Peng Seo-yeon and Peng Seo-jin protested in unison.
Dan Hee-yeong let out a small laugh at their response.
“It’s just that Yul-i’s reaction is so remarkable. Ho ho.”
Dan Hee-yeong gestured, calling to Yul-i who was still playing excitedly.
As the boy came running over, she took his small hands and asked.
“Yul-i. How was your grandfather?”
“Grandfather?”
Yul-i tilted her head in confusion before breaking into a bright smile and answering.
“Grandfather, yes!”
The sight of her was truly endearing.
***
The Master’s Chamber of the Haebuk Peng Clan.
Peng Mu-gang, the master of this room, fixed a gaze upon the man seated across from him that was sharp as a blade’s edge.
Yeo Un-hui.
Peng Mu-gang had met this man once, long ago.
A mere scholar—a foundling with no family, who had never learned a shred of martial arts and had nothing whatsoever to commend him.
Yet his daughter claimed to love such a man.
But at that time, his daughter Peng Seo-yeon had been the finest talent in the Central Plains, numbered among the Six Dragon Prodigies.
Peng Mu-gang had desperately hoped his daughter, with her bright future before her, would not make a foolish choice.
So he had opposed the union vehemently.
Yet his daughter proved equally unyielding.
One glance at the look in her eyes told him she would never bend.
Once she set her mind to something, she never wavered—that was the daughter he knew.
Who did she take after, he wondered.
So Peng Mu-gang sought out Yeo Un-hui himself.
And he made his meaning perfectly clear: do not ruin my daughter’s future.
Before Peng Mu-gang’s fury, Yeo Un-hui could only tremble in silence.
A pathetic man.
And yet—
“Master! The young lady has…!”
Not long after, his daughter and Yeo Un-hui vanished without a trace.
His mind went white as snow.
Peng Mu-gang had never imagined she would abandon even her family and leave.
He was furious.
Furious in a way he had never known before.
He mobilized every resource to search for his daughter.
He swore that the moment he found her, he would bring her back.
And when, days later, he finally located her, he went himself to that small village where she dwelt.
And he saw.
His daughter smiling.
Her appearance was rough, far from the polish of the Peng household, yet that smile—it shone brilliantly…
‘Could my daughter smile like that?’
Peng Mu-gang watched that sight for a long while, then quietly turned and walked away.
And he never searched for her again.
Hoping only that she would be happy.
Hoping she would forget the clan that had never given her such a smile, and live in peace and joy for the rest of her life.
But then his daughter returned.
Bringing her family to the Peng household.
He was glad to see her, yet not altogether pleased—he had missed her desperately, yet at the sight of her face, he felt a fierce anger rise within him.
That strange irritation, which years had not softened, still clung stubbornly to his chest.
Naturally, the man before him who had kindled that irritation could not appear in a favorable light.
It was then.
“I am sorry.”
Yeo Un-hui bowed deeply before Peng Mu-gang.
Peng Mu-gang’s face contorted.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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